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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What allowed Vernon Berry to go on the trip that ended up causing him to contract a disease?

2. What is NOT one of the possible culprits for the poisoning and disease the researchers were finding?

3. The health department began to check every ________, fruit and vegetable stand, and restaurant in the area to find the source of the infections.

4. How many people besides Herman became ill with the dangerous food poisoning?

5. What company changed the name of the compound to aspirin?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Billy receive as treatment when he was first admitted and then discharged to home?

2. What did a German scientist discover about aspirin in 1874, according to the book?

3. Where does the worm that afflicted Vernon normally live before it seeks out a human host?

4. What are some of the painful side effects of aspirin in some people who take it?

5. When Donald Hoffman went to his doctor, what was the doctor's diagnosis when he saw the itchy sore?

6. What did doctors discover about American bats in the course of their trying to treat the woman who seemed to have rabies?

7. Who were the people to become ill after eating lunch together, more ill than the ones with whom they dined?

8. What was the final cause for the trichinosis determined to be? What was the source of the infection?

9. What did the local public health official find out about the health of the students who were impacted by the infection?

10. What were the symptoms the school children in Mountain Home were experiencing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Food poisoning seems to be a common thread in this book, leading to many instances in which the illness is a mystery to doctors.

Part 1: Why do you think food poisoning is something that continues to happen in today's world?

Part 2: How do you think a person might be able to prevent food poisoning all of the time?

Part 3: Do you think that the health department is to blame for food poisoning?

Essay Topic 2

Natalie Parker had a bad experience with her dentist, leading to a depression, which led her into a mental health hospital and electroshock treatments.

Part 1: How do you think a doctor might treat depression today?

Part 2: Do you think that electroshock therapy is the best way to help a patient who is suffering from depression?

Part 3: What do you think you would have done if you learned you had had electroshock therapy?

Essay Topic 3

When the babies began to get ill and die, the first thing that was checked was the water sources, which did not yield a clear connection.

Part 1: Why do you think germs were present in the water sources, even though they didn't cause the problems?

Part 2: How do you think germs can be eradicated from a hospital?

Part 3: Do you feel safe when you're in a hospital? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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